Enough
by reluctant-reporter
Summary: It all started in the orange grove. Set after "One".
1. Chapter 1

Set after "One". I don't own anything. This has been sitting on my computer for a while so not sure if the quotes from episodes are correct, but you get the idea.

Crews doesn't talk about what happened in that SUV. He doesn't say why, after gone for those long minutes, he suddenly appears again in his orange grove, like a mirage to Dani as she drives up with Bodner.

There's a red mark that will blossom into a bruise on his face between his jaw and left cheek. That seems to be the only damage he's suffered, but there's so much he hides. So much he never reveals. The physical damage is the only way you can tell that something has happened to him, something big, something bad. That and his eyes, but only the most observant can see the pain in them. Dani can see it. She doesn't know the details of what has happened but she can see the depth of his pain.

There's an intensity to Crews that she likes and can identify with, but he also scares her sometimes. All of his emotions, not only anger, are fierce. There's almost a violence to his joy sometimes, the way his smile can be too wide and sharp and his eyes too bright. They joy she sees when she steps out of the car is not that kind. His smile is big but doesn't over power his face. His eyes squint in the brightness of the sun as they stare at her, but the look he has is happy relief.

She wants to run to him, hug him, cry all over his shirt while he holds her. She was fairly sure that one of them would not be coming out of this incident unscathed, but Crews surprised her again. She walks over to him while his face is still turned up to the sun, his eyes closed while he enjoys its warmth. It's such a 'Charlie' thing for him to do that it makes her eyes water but she stops the tears before they can flow. Later, she'll bawl in her shower, alone. When she reaches his side, she slips her hand into his and smiles as he twines his fingers with hers, finishing the touch that the Roman had denied them earlier.

"You all right?" Crews asked, looking down at her.

"Yes, you?" She asked, looking into his bright blue eyes.

He shrugged, "The day's had its ups and downs."

They take Dani to the hospital in an ambulance, which she insisted was not necessary. Tidwell was waiting for her when they arrived, pacing like a good mother hen and it made Dani sad because soon she was going to have to tell him that their relationship was over. It was too bad because she thought she really could have loved him. However, near death experiences had a way of bringing out the truth.

For the entire time that she was Roman's hostage, she was waiting for Crews to come for her, not Tidwell. It was Crews she wanted to see one last time before she was killed and it was Crews who had offered his life for hers. No one had ever done anything like that for her. No one ever cared that much.

"Has anyone ever loved you that much?"

Crews had made that statement during their first case together. A dog had taken a bullet and a finger of one of the men involved in the murder of a child, its master. It made her sad to think that a dog was able to love a human enough to die for them but few humans were able to do that for each other, even the ones they claimed to love.

"What was his plan getting in that SUV?"

"His plan was getting you out of that SUV."

Dani had barely slept sine she was release from the hospital and sent home a couple of days ago. All she could think about as she lay in bed was that damn dog and Crew's comment. The answer was no. No had ever loved her that much. Her mother was probably the only person who came close, but she loved Jack Reese more than anything. In their household, his needs and want came before anyone else's, even his child's. Her mother loved her unconditionally, but Jack came first. Always had and always would.

No. No one had ever loved her that much, before now.

_Come on, Dani. He doesn't love you._

Yet she knew that wasn't quite true. He was a good partner, a good friend. He cared about her, trusted her, was loyal to her and protected her. That, to her, was love. The real question was, was Charlie Crews in love with her?

For that moment, before and after he left with Roman, she could have sworn he was. He looked at her like she was the only thing on earth that held any importance. His eyes had burned into hers. She hadn't seen him since he was taken away back to the station as she was taken to the hospital. Tidwell had later told her that Crews was suspended for a month without pay for "going rogue". Funny, the person that really saved her was the only one punished. She had thanked Tidwell for all he did, was able to due and then broke up with him. He took to graciously, which surprised her, but he had said that he saw it coming. She also had stopped at the station and thanked Seever and Stark, shocking him by giving him a hug. She still grinned when she pictured the look on his face and how red it had been when she let him go.

She thought about going to Crews' house to see him, but she still felt a little too raw and exposed for that, afraid he would give her one of his compassionate looks and she would break into tears again. So she stayed away, but she couldn't stop tossing and turning, driving herself crazy with unanswered questions.

"This is crazy. Just grow a pair already and go to him," she mumbled to herself.

Sighing, she got out of bed and turned on her bedside lamp. She quickly grabbed some sweats out of a drawer and put on the sneakers she had left on the floor earlier. She had a visit she needed to make.


	2. Chapter 2

For the purpose of this chapter, Ted was unable to convince Olivia to come back with him from Italy and already came home. I had a brain fart and forgot about him leaving when I wrote this.--

Crews' mansion had no security. While Dani understood his wariness of fences and guarded personnel hanging about the premises, he was rather easy to get to as a target. The shooting before Roman took her was proof of that. When she had expressed this concern to her partner at the hospital after they dug out the bullet and stitched him back together, he only gave her that spacey yet serious look of his.

"If someone really wanted me dead bad enough, a fence wouldn't stop them," he had said. "It wouldn't stop me."

Dani knew he was right but couldn't help wishing that there was some huge electronic gate she'd have to identify herself at to be buzzed in. Hell, even a camera with a monitor inside the house would be better then nothing. Instead, she parked her car in Crew's driveway and went right up to the front door.

It wasn't midnight yet and she expected Crews would still be up if he was at home, it wasn't like he had to go to work the next day. She was surprised when Ted answered the door. He didn't look surprised to see her, though.

"Detective Reese," he greeted.

"Hello Ted. Is Crews here?" she asked, sort of hoping he would say no and she could make a hasty retreat. Maybe this hadn't been such a hot idea.

"Yeah. He just went up to bed," Ted said, smiling with his mouth and not with his eyes. Crews did that quite a bit as well.

"Oh. No big deal. Tell him I'll see him later," she said, turning around to go back to her car.

"Wait, Charlie said that you might be stopping by tonight and to go ahead and send you up," Ted said.

Dani turned around, her eyes wide in surprise before she narrowed them. Ted just shrugged. As Crews' friend and "financial manager" he had that nonchalant don't shoot the messenger expression down to perfection. As strange and impossible as she sometimes found Crews to be, she was willing to bet her paycheck that Ted experienced a significantly larger amount of weirdness from his roommate on a daily basis then she did. For instance, how in the hell could Crews know that she was stopping by tonight? Last time she checked, Crews was Zen, not psychic.

Ted nodded toward the stairs and then headed for the kitchen. Dani slowly walked to the bottom of the stairs and stood there in indecision. While a part of her was dying to go up and see Crew's bedroom (of coarse she was a snoop, she was a cop for Christ sake) and hear his explanation for this strange invitation to his bedroom, another part of her was feeling vulnerable again and wanted to flee and deal with him another time.

"It's the last room straight down the hall," Ted called from the kitchen, which made her jump.

Shit, she forgot that he was still there and watching her act like a nervous idiot. For a minute she worried about what he thought of her before realizing, again, that this was Charlie's best friend therefore used to the strange behavior of others.

After deciding that it was too late to turn back, Dani crept up the stairs like she was trying to sneak up on a perp instead of visiting her partner. When she reached the top, she turned her head and stared back down into the empty house below. Crews really needed to invest in some furniture, at least a couch and a T.V. God, he was weird.

The last room at the end of the hall came sooner then she would have liked and again she hesitated. Should she knock or just barge in? What if he was sleeping and pulled a weapon on her, surprised by the wakeup? What if he slept naked or wasn't alone in there? The thought that he was expecting her seemed to have flown right out of her brain while she panicked.

_Why am I freaking out? This was a mistake. I should have just stayed home and watched those infomercials for the music collections, they're better then a sleeping pill. Not that I'm allowed to have a sleeping pill._

She had almost talked herself into turning around when the door to the dreaded room opened. The hallway was lit only from the lights that were shining downstairs which made it fairly dim. The lights blazing in the bedroom behind the spot where Crews stood created a dramatic backlighting affect, making his hair brighter and his face dark and shadowed.

"Reese," he said, using his chipper tone which annoyed the hell out of her in the mornings. She was not a morning person.

Crews backed up from the doorway and made a sweeping gesture with his hand, a clear invitation. Again, Dani was paralyzed. This was his bedroom. Crews' bedroom. She only went into men's bedrooms for two things, sex or to investigate a crime scene. Not to have a heart to heart with a man who was too damaged and complicated to feel the way she did about him. She was supposed to be the damaged and complicated one in a relationship and find a nice, normal guy to balance her out. Somehow, though, Crews seemed to do that. He provided her with a stability no one else was able to give her while he teetered on the edge of destruction at times.

Crews patiently waited while she straightened her shoulders and marched into the bedroom, hoping she looked annoyed and huffy instead of scared out of her mind. She caught a faint smile which disappeared faster then it had appeared on his face.

"Ted said that you were expecting me," she greeted, getting straight to the point.

She was still standing near the door, like she was ready to bolt any minute and needed a quick and easy getaway.

Crews grinned, "I had a feeling."


	3. Chapter 3

This is the first "love" scene that I've written, so please be merciful while you read. It was harder to write then I thought it would be (no pun intended). Now I feel morning-after-awkward and kind of lame. I hope you like this chapter and thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing, it's appreciated.---

"You had a feeling?" she questioned, imagining that she was back in the unmarked unit with him at the beginning of their partnership and he had just spewed out one of his Zen monologues.

Sometimes she thought that when Crews talked Zen, it wasn't actually Zen. After knowing him awhile, she came up with a theory that Crews was just really good at talking in circles in order to confuse and unbalance people because he felt unbalanced himself much of the time and that evened out the playing field. She finally just stopped questioning him because she never really got answers. That was how Crews worked. After getting used to him, she started to understand what he was really saying underneath the words. Understanding Crews was sometimes like trying to get through a tough book in Literature class. Nothing was ever to be taken literally, everything he said meant something else and you had to look at how he said it, when he said it and how it paralleled with his life or the case they were working on. At first it's frustrating and confusing, but after awhile it becomes second nature. If anyone spoke fluent Crews, she did. And possibly Ted.

Dani watched as Crews sat on his king-sized bed and after giving it a little bounce, he scooted so that his back was against the headboard and his legs were sprawled out in front of him. She felt herself calm down a little now that she had the height advantage and noticed that Crews was wearing a pair of pajama bottoms and a plain, dark blue t-shirt. She wondered if that was really what he wore to bed or if he put that on because he was expecting company.

"This feels unfinished," he said. "I knew that you would either want to talk soon and get it out of the way or completely avoid it."

She was about to ask him what the "it" was that he was talking about just to clarify that they were on the same page and to try and make him squirm, even though with Crews she probably would have been the one to squirm due to his amazing ability to turn things around on a person when they tried to trap him, but then he pinned her with a serious look.

"I also heard that you broke up with Tidwell," he said and Dani almost heard a non-verbal, _you can't use him to hide behind_ in that statement.

Subconsciously, she edged towards the door, not sure if she was ready for what was going to happen next.

"Reese," Crews quietly said. "Don't leave."

As she watched him, his calm expression changed and a slight frown marred his face. She noticed that even though he looked relaxed in the way he was sitting, his body was tense, his hands were clenched and his neck was tight. He appeared just as unsure as she felt.

"All right," she said, moving away from the door and gingerly sitting at the foot of the bed in front of him.

If they were going to do this then they would be at the same level, face to face.

----------------

"You killed Roman, didn't you," Dani said.

Crews blinked at her, surprised at her statement. He probably expected her to blurt out her feelings or something equally as cheesy, but that wasn't how she operated. She needed to make a connection with him before that kind of talk was going to occur and in order to do that, she had to re-establish trust. Getting Crews to answer a difficult question honestly was going to make or break this moment.

"Yes," he said his voice low and gruff like he had to pull that word out from somewhere deep inside where it didn't want to leave.

"How did you do it?"

Crews dropped his eyes so that he was looking at his legs and his face went blank, "I hit him in the throat, damaging the wind pipe and he suffocated. It was quick."

"Then his goons burned him and the vehicle," Dani finished and he nodded.

Dani reached over and lifted one of his clenched fists, cupping it between her hands. She gently pulled on his fingers until he stretched them out and then she turned his hand over so that the back of it was cradled by her two much smaller ones. Crews stared, mesmerized, as she traced the lines in his palm with her thumb.

"How did you talk them out of putting a bullet in you and leaving you to burn right next to him?" she asked.

She gently scraped her thumbnail across his lifeline and smirked a little when she heard him suck in a breath and saw his body give a small shudder.

"A couple of his men understood English and I think they hated him more then I did," Crews said.

She nodded, understanding hatred for that man. She had seen a lot of messed up people in her life and she wasn't sure which was worse. A murderer who killed due to thoughtlessness and selfishness or a murderer who killed because they liked it and liked the control over others they gained from the act. Roman had enjoyed playing with people and their fears. Could she believe him when he told her that her father was dead? She wasn't sure and it was too soon for her to even contemplate looking for him. For now, she told herself that Roman was a liar and her father was out there, somewhere, alive.

"What did you tell Tidwell?" she asked.

Crews' fingers started to curl back up at the mention of her former boyfriend's name, but she pressed one of her hands over his palm to keep it flat.

"That Roman and his men started arguing in Russian and one of them punched him in the neck which killed him. Then they threw me out of the SUV and later, when I saw the smoke, I realized they must have set the vehicle on fire," he said.

"The captain believed you?"

Crews just shrugged, "I'm not going back to prison, ever. Not for Roman. Not for doing something that should have been done a long time ago."

"He was lucky to die quick. I would have made him bleed. I would have made his death last as long as I could," Dani said. "But I understand that you had a limited window of time to work with."

Crews' hand slipped from her grasp and he leaned forward, catching and holding her hands in each of his, "The element of surprise is always underestimated."

Then his mouth was against hers. It wasn't really a kiss just their lips touching as he waited to see how she would respond. She moved her mouth slightly and started to suck on his bottom lip, pulling it into her mouth. He groaned and wrapped his long arms around her, pulling her onto his lap, as their kiss changed and his tongue explored the inside of her mouth. She slid her arms up his chest and her hands cupped the back of his neck, her fingers threading through the short red hairs at the base of his skull. Crews' hands found their way underneath her shirt and were gently stroking her back.

"I hope this means you like me," Crews said, grinning when they finally broke apart.

He looked lighter and younger now that the sexual tension had broken and he no longer had to try and hide his feelings for her. She felt the same elation, like she did in high school the first time she made out with a guy she'd had a crush on.

"This better mean that you like me," she joked back, arching an eyebrow and looking at his lap where she could feel that he was hard.

"Oh, yeah. We definitely like you," he said, wiggling his eyebrows as he grinded himself against her.

She gasped and leaned her forehead against his. If they had not been clothed, he would have been inside her. In fact, that wasn't such a bad idea.

"I like you too, a lot. Want me to prove it?" she asked, using her deep "phone sex operator" voice guys seemed to like.

Crews, whose hands had wandered towards her front and were now driving her to distraction as he touched her breasts through her bra, kissed his way from her neck to her ear where he whispered, "And let you have all the fun. No, I think I've got a lot more to prove then you do and this may take a while. There's a lot of evidence to go over and I have a feeling you are going to need a lot of convincing."

"I am a skeptic," she agreed as she tugged on his shirt and started pulling it over his head.

"I look forward to the challenge."


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews and support. I really do appreciate it and it encourages me to keep going with this story.----

The morning after with a man was always a necessary evil that Dani had to put up with whenever she woke up next to a stranger she had met at a bar the night before. That was one of the reasons why she never took anyone home and preferred sex in motel rooms. Men who took you to a rented room after only knowing you a couple of hours knew what to expect, they didn't want anything from you in the morning. They would generally be polite and go through the motions of trying to sooth her female pride afterwards while she only sometimes did the same for them. Dani generally got dressed as quickly as she could and got out. As soon as a door with a number on the front slammed closed behind her and she was outside, she felt a surge of relief quickly followed by guilt and disgust. She was what most would consider a slut. The pleasures from the evening before would always quickly dry up in the light of day and she would be left feeling empty and restless again.

Then she started seeing Kevin Tidwell and she felt normal. It wasn't the rush she got from anonymous sex, the thrill of choosing a man, having him and then leaving, or using alcohol and drugs. She did not feel powerful while she was with Tidwell, although whatever power she felt before as fleeting. One night stands were similar to her drug and alcohol addiction. The euphoria was intense at first but quickly fizzled and then it took more and more to bring that feeling back. However, nothing was ever as good and intense as that first high.

Being with Charlie Crews was more dangerous then all those one night stands combined and yet she felt safer then she ever did in Tidwell's bed. Crews knew when to be gentle and when she needed him to be rough. While part of her was frightened at the intensity of the feelings he brought up in her, another part of her wanted to feel every little emotion for as long as she could while they were together. Crews was like a new drug, stronger then any she had ever taken before and it worried her. She didn't know if she could survive loosing him and starting over yet again. For someone like her, relationships did not last forever and theirs ending someday was inevitable. She knew that when things between them faded or when they crashed and burned, another small part of her soul would die and she would be even more hardened and bitter than she already was

"You think very loudly, Dani," Crews voice rasped into her ear, "I've always noticed that about you. Made me curious about what goes on in that lovely mind of yours. Whatever you think about always seems serious and heavy."

"I guess I'm just a serious and heavy kind of thinker, Crews," Dani said.

It was late morning; way past the time Dani would normally wake up and start coffee before getting ready for work. She was lying on her side in the middle of Crews' bed while he spooned her from behind. They were both still naked and Crews' lean and muscular body was warm and smelled delicious, like soap, oranges and a hint of the expensive cologne he used sparingly. She had been awake for awhile yet didn't want to move away from him yet. That was something new since usually she would have practically sprained something trying to detangle herself from him, gotten dressed and flown out the door like an Olympic sprinter. Instead, she smiled as he lightly snored into her hair and wiggled herself closer to his body as he mumbled in his sleep.

"After the night we've had, you can call me Charlie," Crews said. "Actually, you did call me Charlie last night. Well, screamed it, really.

Dani turned so that she was on her back and Crews lifted himself onto his forearms so that he was now above her, his face inches from hers.

"That was because at one point, your hand was tangled in my hair and you put all your weight on it. Pulling a woman's hair during sex may sound hot but it really isn't. It's pretty painful and leads to things like screaming and thrashing about," Dani said, grinning.

Crews grinned back with mischief and buried his hands back into her hair, gently combing his fingers through, "So that was why you were bucking, wiggling and screaming my name. I must have pulled your hair a lot."

"Oh, yeah. Lots of times. You definitely have a kink when it comes to pulling hair. I'm sorry, but I'm just not that kind of girl. They probably have websites for that," she said.

She waited for Charlie's smart-assed reply but instead he kissed her which led to them make love again, thoroughly and slowly. They showered together after and she put back on the sweats she'd come over in. Charlie put on a t-shirt and a pair of faded and worn jeans. They went downstairs together and stopped short once they reached the kitchen where Charlie promised to make her breakfast. Sitting at the counter on a stool was Ted, reading the paper and sipping coffee, a small plate with toast crumbs also in front of him.

"Detectives," Ted greeted, not bothering to look up from the business section.

"Hey Ted," Charlie replied, his voice excruciatingly perky causing Ted to finally look up from his reading material and watch Crews as he started opening cupboards, taking out pans and bowls to make the promised omelet.

"Good morning, Ted," Dani said as she sat next to him at the counter and picked up the discarded front section of the paper.

"Shit," she swore when she came to a story she had hoped would never see the light of day.

"What?" Charlie asked, his back to her as he broke eggs into a bowl near the sink.

"Some reporter finally dredged up some information on Roman's murder and my kidnapping, goddamn vultures," she said, waving the paper in anger and then setting it down again on the counter.

"What does it say? Anything true or is it the usual over-dramatized bull," Charlie said, glancing at her before going back to his eggs like it was no big deal.

Dani wasn't fooled, his back was tensed up and he started to break eggs with a little too much force.

"Its close enough to the truth, this bottom-feeder must have an in with someone in the department. There's the kidnapping with the possible involvement of the FBI, Roman ending up a piece of charred meat and you being suspended for a month after I'm found with you on property you own and am taken to the hospital with minor injuries after you're dragged off in handcuffs," Dani folded up the paper roughly and tossed it into a nearby trash can. "They cuffed you?"

"No, they threatened to but then I said 'Attorney' and that got through to them pretty quick," he said, moving away from the eggs he started to stir and standing in front of her as he caressed her cheek and quickly pecked her on the lips before moving back to his bowl.

Ted stared at them. While he must have known what was going on between them since she stayed over and he always seemed to have this knowing look, seeing them be affectionate with one another in front of him must have still been kind of strange. Kind of like knowing your parents do it, or something.

"They still suspended you," she grumbled.

"I went out on my own without permission. I'm trying to think about it more like a vacation and less like a punishment," Charlie said, turning on his stove top and setting a frying pan on it after dousing it with cooking spray.

"Why don't you take a trip," Ted said, folding his own paper back up and leaning away from the table to stretch, "both of you have been through a pretty big ordeal. Maybe a new place might be a good idea right now."

Charlie turned away from the stove and looked at his partner, "What do you say, Dani. We could go on a trip. You could shop in Tokyo or go hiking through the Rain Forest."

"Charlie, we haven't even been on a date yet so taking a trip together might be moving a little quickly," Dani said, rolling her eyes.

Charlie's face lit up and he jiggled a little in excitement, "You actually want to go on a date, a real date. I thought I would have to trick or bribe you to go out with me."

Ted muttered something about them being weird as he took his plate and coffee cup to the sink and left them with the rest of the paper folded underneath his arm. Dani grinned at his retreat.

"I think we scared Ted off," she said. "And no, all you have to do is ask me to dinner or something, unless this is a one time thing."

Charlie's smile became a bit smaller and his eyes dimmed, "I don't think of this as a one time thing. I hope 'this' happens often and for a very long time in the future."

He turned back to his pan and lifted up the eggs a bit to make sure the heat wasn't up to high, "I did this wrong. We should have gone out before going to bed together. I should have romanced you. Now you're having doubts."

To Dani, it sounded like Charlie was making a laundry list of how he screwed things up between them already instead of having a conversation with her. Talking to her but not talking with her. She got up and went to him, slipping her arms around his waist and pressing her cheek into the middle of his back.

"You did nothing wrong, so far you have been great. I don't want this to be a one time thing, I was just checking. I felt a little unsure of where I stood with you, that's all," she said against his shirt.

He turned so that her face was pressed against his chest and kissed the top of her head.

"Dani Reese, would you do me the honor of going out to dinner with me tonight?" he asked his smile back at full force.

Dani rolled her eyes again but smiled back, "Only if your table manners are up to snuff and we can make out in your sports car after."

"I think that could be arranged."


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry about the lack of updates but with two jobs and Christmas coming there hasn't been any free time to write. I promise that this story will be finished at some point and I will update as often as possible. Thanks again for reading--

Even though Charlie Crews made Dani feel very safe, going out on a date with him for the first time was like taking a leap off of a cliff and falling into the unknown, especially since he refused to tell her where he was going to take her. She knew that it was strange, they had already slept together and here she was feeling a little nervous about eating dinner with the man. It wasn't like they had never shared a meal, either. They spent almost all day, every day together but that was before she left for the FBI. Before that day in the orange grove that changed everything.

She'd tried to pry some information from her exasperating partner about where he was going to take her, she'd even used tactics she normally saved for interrogating murder suspects, but in the end he'd told her nothing. It probably didn't help that when she had interrogated those aforementioned suspects, Charlie had been right by her side, either playing good cop to her bad cop or vice versa. Hell, some of her tactics she had learned from him. Charlie was an impossible man to break which was one of the things that Dani respected most about him. He'd been through hell, a nightmare most people would have never have lived through, and came out not only alive but unbroken. Sure, maybe he was a bit cracked and beat up but so was she. The fact that he left prison after 12 years and was still a good cop; a good man said it all. She also liked that he never seemed to flinch away from mentions of her ugly past and when she said mean, sometimes cruel things to him, he never got angry or annoyed with her. He would either ignore her tone and continue the conversation as though he thought she were being serious instead of sarcastic or give her that look that clearly said he knew she was really upset about something else or was trying to push him away because he was getting too close. Once, after she sort of apologized to Charlie for snapping at him in the car he just told her that it was alright and that he liked that she was comfortable enough to express herself to him. She told him that he was crazy and to shut off that goddamned Zen tape or she would express herself by shoving it up his ass. He'd nodded but a small smile appeared on his face when he thought she wasn't looking. After that, she tried harder not to take out her bad moods on him.

She spent most of breakfast trying to get some idea of what his plans for their evening were. The minute she agreed to the date, he'd grinned and stated that he knew exactly where he would take her since he'd been thinking about it ever since the day he got her back from Roman. Dani hated not knowing things and thought about trying to seduce the answers she wanted out of him but she knew that while it might be fun, it probably wouldn't work. Besides, she didn't want to be that kind of woman anymore, using sex as anything other then just being with someone she cared about. She finally just pulled the female card about wanting to know how to dress for the occasion. Charlie told her to dress casual which was a relief since she really didn't feel comfortable dining in some fancy place with chandeliers and waiters who spoke only French.

After breakfast, she helped Charlie with the dishes and after exchanging a few lingering kisses, she went home. Charlie arrived that evening at 7 p.m. on the dot at her house to pick her up and she felt that tingle of attraction when she opened the door and stared at him.

"You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," Charlie said, his eyes moving from the top of her head to the toes of her shoes.

Dani couldn't help rolling her eyes and giving him a stupid smile that told him she was secretly pleased with his statement. She was glad she chose to wear the simple red jersey dress and low heels.

"With all the women who throw themselves at you, you must keep your eyes closed a lot of the time, then," she said.

This time Charlie rolled his eyes and surprised Dani by snaking an arm around her waist and roughly pulling her to him, "Nope. I'm very observant, it's a job requirement."

Dani closed her eyes as his breath danced across her cheek, his lips just brushing the skin on her face as he leaned down and softly spoke.

"The first time we met, I thought 'that is one tough woman'. Then I thought 'that is one very beautiful woman'. I was extremely happy when you decided you wanted to keep me as a partner and not sell me out. At that moment you became more then just beautiful," he said.

"What's more than just beautiful?" she asked her voice breathless and just as soft as his.

"You. There isn't really a one word that describes you. Tough and beautiful just aren't enough. I didn't realize it until I almost lost you to Roman but I never want to be without you again," he said then placed small kisses on her cheek and moved down to kiss her neck.

Dani felt her stomach flip at his words. She understood what they meant. He was telling her that he loved her. Her palms started to sweat and she knew her eyes were probably huge with surprise. She hadn't expected this yet and couldn't decide if she was thrilled or terrified.

"Nothing lasts forever, Charlie," she said.

Charlie's head snapped up at her words and he searched her face, worry and fear on his own. Dani wanted to reassure him, take those words back but she couldn't. They were the truth.

"Romantic love does not last. People always make promises in the beginning and they think that this is it, this is going to last forever but it doesn't. Couples break up, people change, people die," she said, trying to explain her reasoning. "No one stays together forever."

"What if two people get married and spend their entire lives together, in love, then die at the same time, in a car accident or something?" he said, tilting his head as he looked into her eyes.

"That's a lot of ifs. How many people do you know that have stayed happily together in love for their whole lives?" Dani asked.

"My grandparents. They got married when they were teenagers and were together their whole lives. They even died on the same day," he answered.

She snorted, "Look at our parents, though. I don't know about you but I don't want to be in a relationship like theirs and let's face it. Most people have dysfunctional relationships like that."

"Since when are we like most people? Look, I'm not saying that we should get married and try to live happily ever after but I don't want you to quit on me before we ever really get started," he said, his hands rising from her waist to cup her face.

"I won't. I want to enjoy you while I have you," she said, her smile a bit sad.

Charlie sighed and gave her a long, slow kiss that was more affectionate then sexual.

"I can see that it's going to take time to get through that stubborn head of yours. That's alright, though. I don't plan on going anywhere without you and sooner or later, you'll believe me," he said.

They ended up eating diner at a run down diner not far from the station. As they sat in a booth towards the back of the establishment, Dani raised her eyebrows at Charlie, silently asking him what the hell they were doing here. He grinned as he opened one of the laminated menus and pretended to read it.

"Crews?" she asked, "when you said you knew of the perfect place for us to go, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

"Come on Reese," he said, mimicking her annoyed tone. "I'm disappointed that you don't recognize this place. If it wasn't clear from our little talk before, apparently I'm going to be the romantic one in this relationship."

Dani glared at the man across the booth from her who looked handsome in a dark blue shirt that made his red hair appear more auburn then usual before looking around the place. It did look kind of familiar.

"This was where we had our first meal together as partners after we solved our first case," he said. "You had a cheeseburger and fries and I had a chicken sandwich with the fruit plate."

"Your memory is freaky," she said, but smiled and sat back in the booth.

"I know. I've always been good at remembering the most mundane things but after I was released from prison I made it a point to store all the good moments I had to try and crowd out the bad thoughts that sometimes come," he said. "Most of the best moments I've had are with you."

Even though Charlie said this with such a matter of fact tone, a rush of sadness went through Dani. The things this man endured that he didn't deserve were a true testament to how unfair life could be. The fact that he would hang on to happy memories like they would disappear any moment made Dani realize that even though Charlie seemed pretty solid, he had an unconscious fear of losing everything again. He feared going back to prison one day, knowing he would need every thought of happiness he could get to survive it.

"Me too," she said, reaching across the table to take his hand as he let his menu drop. "I think about seeing you in the orange grove that day, alive and unhurt, after Roman had taken you. That's one of the best moments I've had in a long time," she said.

His eyes widened and she knew she had shocked him with such an open statement about her feelings.

"My favorite moment was—"

But Charlie didn't get to finish his sentence because two men in black ski masks burst into the diner, waving guns and yelling for everyone to stay seated, get down and give them money. Dani looked at Charlie in disbelief.

"You have got to be kidding me."


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry about the wait, but wasn't really sure where I was going with this story. I was surprised by the end of this chapter since I didn't plan it at all, it just kind of spilled out. Hope you like this and thanks for reading. I'm thinking another chapter or two will be the end of this story so thanks for hanging in there.---

They were amateurs, that much was obvious. They were dressed all in black from their combat boots to the non-descript ski masks covering their faces. Dani watched as the taller, thinner one went straight to the counter, demanding that the nearest waitress empty the cash register into a black back pack he had carried in with him. The shorter, stockier one was going from booth to table, demanding all the customers' valuables. Since she and Charlie were seated near the back, they would be one of the last ones hit up. Of course, neither of them was carrying their weapon although she strongly suspected that Charlie had some sort of firearm out in his car.

The robbers sounded terribly young and Dani wondered if this was their first robbery, which could prove to be both good and bad if it was. Since the two men had split up to perform their tasks, Dani assumed that they had thought this would be the easiest and fastest way in and out. That showed that Shorty and Stretch were worried about getting caught which meant harming people was not on their agenda. It also left their backs unprotected. However, you get a nervous criminal and sometimes they got a little trigger happy if they were startled by something unexpected, like being tackled by an off-duty police officer, or two.

Since she was sitting with her back to the door, Dani had turned around to watch the commotion as the two men had entered. She kept her body positioned sideways in the booth so that she could easily and quickly slide out but turned her head back to look at Charlie. His face was carefully blank and his eyes were darting between the man gathering wallets, jewelry and cell phones from the customers and the man pointing a gun at a blubbering waitress who was emptying the register into the bag. Charlie glanced at her and gave her a nod towards the smaller, fatter man. His hands, which were both planted on the table, palms down in front of him, lifted and he discreetly pointed to himself and then to the man at the counter. She nodded once and he held up three fingers which she knew meant that he was counting down until they made their moves. She kept her robber in her eyesight but focused on Charlie's fingers which slowly went from three fingers held up, to two, to one and then none.

Just like when she took a door, she focused on her objective which was to disarm and incapacitate Shorty. Moving quickly, she slid out as he turned towards their table after gathering items from the customers in the booth behind him. Due to nerves, Shorty's hands were slick with sweat and getting the weapon away from him was easy, almost as easy as kicking him behind his knee cap which made him buckle and crumple to the floor in pain, moaning about a broken leg. She held the gun on him and glanced at Charlie who had apparently flown across the room and broke a chair over Stretch's head since he seemed to be out cold and her partner was holding two broken table legs with chunks of wood littered across the floor around him.

The diner erupted in shouts and crying and people were staring at them in shock.

"It's all right, we're police. Would someone please call 911 and ask for Captain Tidwell," Charlie spoke calmly, dropping the chair legs and picking up the gun from the floor.

"So let me get this straight. You two were just sitting down to a friendly dinner when these two Yahoos came in demanding money so of coarse you decided to take them out?!" Tidwell shouted; spit almost flying out of his mouth and hitting Dani in the eye.

Dani had never seen Tidwell look so angry and out of control. His hair was messed up like he had been running his hands through it on the car ride there, his clothes were even more rumpled and stained then usual and his eyes were cold and hard, ready to murder someone if they made the wrong move or sound. Currently he was practically screaming in her face although he was standing uncomfortably close to Charlie but due to the differences in their height, could not shout into his ear like he was into hers. She and Charlie were out in the parking lot of the diner, standing next to each other near Charlie's car. Actually, Charlie was leaning against the passenger's side door of his car with his arms folded across his chest, appearing calm and nonchalant which she knew was driving Kevin crazy, and she was standing so that her arm brushed his and was giving the Captain the same look she used to give her father when he would lecture her about missing curfew or some other minor rule she broke which he always blew out of proportion. She decided that she'd let Kevin have his little temper tantrum for a few minutes since obviously this was about her being out socially with Charlie, but if he didn't calm down soon, she was going to get in Charlie's car and run his ass over.

"That's pretty much how it happened, Captain," Charlie said, giving a tight little smile.

Since they were actually touching, Dani knew Charlie's relaxed pose was anything but. His arms were tensed up and ready to do some damage to Tidwell if he got any closer to them, or her since he started to tense up even more when Tidwell moved away from Charlie and closer to her in order to yell in someone's face. That was one of the reasons why she was standing so close to him, not to rub anything in Kevin's face but to make sure that Charlie was aware that whatever consequences his actions might have, she would also be affected because she was with him. If she could be calm then she would make sure that he was too which she knew she could just by the reassurance that she was right there next to him.

"What if one of their guns had gone off, huh? I could have a couple of dead detectives or customers on my hands right now. Neither of you were on duty or even armed," Tidwell yelled.

"Come on, Captain. These guys were completely green. Reese and I knew what we were doing and no one was hurt. Off-duty officers prevent crime all the time," Charlie said, his voice starting to rise in annoyance.

"Of all the dumb, foolhardy shit that you've pulled! I'm tempted to suspend your ass for another month for putting people in unnecessary danger."

"Funny, coming from the guy who couldn't do what needed to be done earlier and looked the other way when I did it. I'm getting god-damned tired of cleaning up messes that everyone else is too chicken shit to do themselves!" Charlie growled so that no one else could hear them.

"We both know that you started that mess and I didn't ask you to do something you weren't already going to do anyway," Tidwell hissed back.

"I'm going to assume that my kidnapping is the mess we are addressing?" Dani said, coolly.

Both Tidwell and Charlie shut up and looked at her, Tidwell backing up while Charlie straightened as he had stooped to try and intimidate Tidwell with his height earlier.

"Dani, you know if I could have gone after you, I would have. That's why I sent Crews," Tidwell said.

Dani almost felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. Charlie came after her because Tidwell had asked him to? She started to shuffle away from Crews and stared at him in disbelief. All this time she had thought that he came after her because he cared not because he was following orders.

"That's bull and you know it," Charlie's voice raised as he grabbed for Dani's hand, refusing to let her run away from him. "You just said that you knew I was going after her anyway, which I was."

She stared into Charlie's light blue eyes which were dark with anger, hurt and a bit of fear. He thought she was going to use this to leave him and he was almost right.

"Both of you are ass-holes and just need to shut up. I'm tired, my head hurts and I'm starving. What happened here was just two off-duty detectives performing a civic duty. Crews, get me the hell out of here so we can get something to eat," she said, bumping Charlie out of the way with her hip as she opened the passenger door and got in the car.

"Goodnight Captain," she said, as Charlie walked around the vehicle to get in the driver's seat.

"And you," she said, as Charlie started the car and opened his mouth at the same time, "I don't want to hear another word out of you until we get to a drive-thru window and then I had better only hear you ordering."

Charlie immediately shut his mouth and slowly drove out of the parking lot. Dani's head was pounding by now and she would really rather have a drink then a hamburger but she knew her night was far from over. She and Charlie had a lot to discuss before she could go to bed, whether it was with him at his place or back in her own bed at home, alone.


	7. Chapter 7

The unthinkable had happened. Charlie Crews had betrayed her and it hurt worse then she could ever imagine it would have. Betrayal stings at first and hurts more as time passes, like a deep cut that's unable to heal. After the shock of it wears off, it starts to feel more like someone stomped on your chest, probably because metaphorically they did, and it makes it difficult to breathe.

Dani sat across from Charlie at his recently acquired kitchen table, avoiding eye contact while she picked at her hamburger and just tried to keep breathing. She didn't know what to say to him. Normally anger would have guided her, fueled her speech and allowed her to yell all her frustration and disappointment at him. She would have been able to let go of a little bit of the hurt that swirled around inside her which still flared up and stabbed her whenever she glanced at Charlie's deep blue eyes and pale drawn face. She hadn't expected this, not from him. She never would have thought that he could make her feel this way, at least not this soon. They had just gotten started.

"All right," Charlie said quietly but firmly, his own dinner untouched. "I know you think that I misled you and only went after you because I was following Tidwell's orders, but that's bullshit."

"So he didn't ask you to find me?" Dani asked, picking at her soggy bread, her eyes not leaving her plate. "He was lying?"

Even though she spoke at a normal volume, her voice was hoarse and she knew she looked pathetic, like a dog that had been kicked one too many times as her shoulders hunched defensively. She really didn't have it in her to fight. Charlie was her shelter, the one person who made her feel safe and real. Besides, trying to hide her vulnerability was useless because he knew how to strip all her bravado away. That was the thing about people who acted tough; they did it to hide vulnerability. Once someone figured that out, all they could see were the vulnerable parts underneath. Still, Charlie flinched when he spoke and looked as though he was in as much pain as she was. Good.

"No, he didn't lie," Charlie replied. "I guess you could say he used the truth against me by twisting the context."

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, when she didn't respond.

"Do you honestly believe that I was waiting around for Tidwell's permission to take action? Him asking me just happened at the right time and I was willing to take all the help I could get since it was for you. I would have done anything to make sure you were returned safely. I teamed up with Bodner, the man who shot me, for Christ's sake," he said, his voice rising as he went.

"Why didn't you just tell me earlier?" Dani asked, finally looking up at him as she folded her hands on her lap.

"Why the hell would I even think about it?" he asked quietly as he watched her. "All I cared about was you. All I've been thinking about is you."

"Well, while we're on the subject, what the hell were you thinking getting into a vehicle with Roman? Did you even have a plan? Bodner told me you didn't," Dani shouted, rising from the table to lean over it, making Charlie jump in his seat.

The sudden surge of anger she felt surprised her as much as her shouting had surprised him. It felt good and she felt her insides warm up again as the hurt started to melt away. She believed him. He'd never purposely hurt her before so why would he start now. Besides, he might have thought that he was so smart and clever lying to her to spare her feelings when she had asked him about her father all those months ago, but she knew. She knew her father was a dirty cop that had something to do with Charlie going to prison and the fact that Charlie trusted her even though she was Jack Reese's daughter strengthened the feelings she had for him. The thought of Charlie dead at Roman's hands scared her and when Dani had problems expressing certain emotions, like fear, they usually came out in anger.

"Sure I had a plan. I even named it. 'Operation Retrieve Reese'," he said, flashing a tiny grin as he realized that she still cared and wasn't happy with him risking his life for her.

He knew he was forgiven.

"Funny. If we are ever in a situation like that again, never trade yourself for me," she ordered.

Charlie sat back and looked at her in a way she could never remember anyone looking at her before. Her mother looked at her father like that when she was younger, like he put the stars in the sky and she would follow him to the ends of the earth. She knew that look was love.

"I can't promise you that but I will promise that I would do whatever it took to come back to you, alive," he said, standing up and scooting his chair in so that he could move around the table.

"I guess I can live with that," she sighed with fake annoyance.

Charlie grinned widely and skirted around the table to stand in front of her as she turned to face him. He brought his hands up to cup her face and wound his fingers through her wavy, dark hair. The color had returned to his face and his eyes were much darker, a look she recognized from the night before. While her heart pounded in anticipation of what was to come, her body relaxed as the tension left her. Charlie holding her felt like home. Charlie kissing her felt like living.

She knew that things between them would never be easy. They were both stubborn and had a lot of baggage from their pasts. They were partners at work and since sleeping with your partner was frowned upon, Tidwell splitting them up professionally would probably be a reality in the near future. Dealing with Tidwell and his jealousy would also get even messier. She didn't know if a relationship with Charlie could last but frankly, Dani didn't really care anymore. She loved Charlie and she knew he love her and, for now, that was enough.

THE END

--Thanks to everyone who read this and reviewed, I hope you liked it. It got a little melodramatic and out of character at times, but that's just how I roll. If you have any suggestions for improvements since this is only the second piece of fanfic I've ever completed, please feel free to express yourself but in a constructive way. 'You suck' leaves little direction for how I can improve. Again, thanks for reading!


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